New challenges for rural people and rural places

The Center for Rural Affairs is committed to continuing our work for opportunity and justice for everyone in rural America during the rapidly evolving response to the Coronavirus.

COVID-19 and the ripple effects will create new challenges for rural people and rural places. Our work may look different in the days ahead, but we will continue to serve our mission in all ways possible.

During this time, the Center will act to prioritize staff, community, and public health. We recognize staff, clients, and community members have varying risk levels from COVID-19. We’re all concerned about spreading it to someone who is at risk. We will do our part to reduce transmission.

What you can expect from us:

Our offices will be closed beginning Monday, March 16, until further notice. Staff are working remotely.

In-person Center events will be canceled, postponed, or held virtually until further notice. If you have an event scheduled with us, look for communication from staff about remote communication, cancelation, or postponement.

Stay tuned. We’ll look for innovative ways to engage communities and policymakers in the coming weeks. We also urge all to follow public health guidance, check in on your neighbors, and support local businesses when you can.

We encourage you to stay safe and take steps to reduce spread of the Coronavirus. Being engaged and staying healthy are two of the most important things we can do to help our communities. We’ll get through this together.

Small business owners in Nebraska are now eligible to apply for SBA economic injury disaster loans (updated March 23, 2020) - Nebraska has now been issued the required Federal Declaration of disaster to allow small business owners to apply for low-interest SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Any small business owner affected by COVID-19 since the beginning of January 2020 can apply for the loan here.

Available disaster loans through the Small Business Administration:

Business Physical Disaster Loans – Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.

Home Disaster Loans – Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles.

Agricultural resources

The Small Business Administration opened its Economic Injury Disaster Loan on May 4, 2020, to agricultural enterprises only. The Paycheck Protection Program and Health care Enhancement Act provided additional funding for farmers and ranchers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. An Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance of up to $10,000 is designed to provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. This loan advance will not have to be repaid.

U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is investing up to $9 million in research on the impact of COVID-19 on American agriculture. NIFA is accepting applications for research or extension activities that focus on developing and deploying rapid, reliable, and readily adoptable COVID-19 agricultural strategies across the food and agriculture enterprise: health and security of livestock; food and food processing; well-being of farm workforce, food service providers, and rural Americans; and economic security.
Applications are due June 4, 2020.

Farm Aid maintains a hotline to offer farmers advice and support, and refer farmers to a network of farm and rural support organizations across the country. Call 1.800.FARM.AID or email farmhelp@farmaid.org. Farm Aid has also put together this list of resources.

COVID-19 Resources for Farmers - from our friends at Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service. "As we all deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re doing everything we can to help farmers succeed in these trying times. We’ll add new resources as they become available, so check back often."

Producers located in counties receiving a primary or contiguous diaster designation are eligible for low-interest emergency loans to help recover from production and physical losses.

The Emergency Conservation Program provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters.

Compensation is also available to producers who purchased coverage through FSA’s Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which protects non-insurable crops against natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses or prevented planting.

Call your local USDA office or visit farmers.gov/recover. Note: During the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA Service Centers will continue to be open for business by phone appointment only. FSA and NRCS program delivery staff at the Service Centers will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. More information is available online at https://www.farmers.gov/coronavirus.